Building structure with panel supports and a foundation



[Sept- 1967 F. A. AxELssoN BUILDING STRUCTUREIWITYH PANEL SUPPORTS AND A FOUNDATION 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 4, 1965 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS Sept. 26, 1967 I F. A. AXELSSON 3,343,321

BUILDING STRUCTURE WITH PANEL SUPPORTS AND A FOUNDATION Filed March 4, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 .bf JIZ ATTORNEYS Sept. 26, 1967" F. A. AXELSVSON BUILDING STRUCTURE WITH PANEL SUPPORTS AND A FOUNDATION 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March 4; 1965 ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,343,321 BUILDING STRUCTURE WITH PANEL SUPPORTS AND A FOUNDATION Folke A. Axelsson, Grand Haven, Mich., assignor to Air- Space, Inc., Fruitport, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Filed Mar. 4, 1965, Ser. No. 437,136 Claims. (Cl. 52-296) ABSTRACT, OF THE DISCLOSURE A building panel structure with interfitting offset panel edges fitting over configurated support clips, and interconnected by special interfit-ting panel edges.

This invention relates to building construction, and more particularly to a building wall and/or roof panel construction having a unique retention clip and panel combination.

Construction of buildings ordinarily involves considerable labor and skill for erection. This is true even for those buildings with relatively simple construction of partially prefabricated components, and used for example for housing animals, for storage, or for other like purposes. The inclusion of insulation to protect against harsh climatic conditions ordinarily adds significantly to the complexity.

The entry of prefabricated housing in recent years considerably lessens the amount of time, labor, and skill involved for erection. As an important example, preformed steel frames can be quickly and easily set up on the foundation, for supporting the walls and roof. Mounting the walls and roof, however, requires considerable manual labor and'skill, presently.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a building construction enabling prefabricated panels to be attached to frame elements in only minutes to effect a complete building construction. Moreover, the joints interengage the panels in excellent fashion to form the complete building wall or roof including enclosure means and insulation.

It is another object of this invention to provide a building panel connection effecting interengagement of adjacent panels and attachment of the panels to rigid supports with-out the necessity of using additional connectors such as nails, bolts, etc. The panels merely slip and snap into place for mutually cooperating retention over special anchor clips to form a tight joint of a finished construction ready for immediate use. The walls and/or roof can moreover be assembled by only one or two men, even though each panel section is of substantial size, e.g. 25-40 square feet.

It is another object of this invention to provide an insulated foam panel and clip assembly for a steel frame element where the entire combination can be assembled including the frame elements to form a complete housing enclosure in an extremely short time and with a minimum of connectors to the steel elements. Moreover, the frame elements can be attached to the building foundation with a mere sliding action to be firmly secured for permanent use.

Several other objects of this invention will become apparent upon studying the following specification in conjunction with the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a partially completed building construction according to this invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary elevational view of the construction in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view on plane III-III of FIG. 2;

3,343,321 Patented Sept. 26 1967 FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view of a slightlymodified form of the connector element in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary elevational view of the receiving means on the frame in FIG. 4 for the connector element; and

FIG. 7 is a perspective fragmentary enlarged view of the preferred attachment between the frame elements and the foundation of the building.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, the building construction 10 shown in FIG. 1 is shown in its partially completed form to illustrate more effectively the principles and details involved. This building includes a foundation 12 as of poured concrete, 2. plurality of rigid, spaced, steel frame elements 14, 16 and 18 mounted on the foundation.

Mounted on these steel elements is a plurality of lightweight panels 20, 20, etc for the 'roof, and 22, 22', etc. for the side walls. Although only one roof section and one side wall is shown, the remainder are formed in the same manner and thus are not specifically shown in detail.

Each of the steel frame elements is preferably interconnected with the adjacent ones by braces 24 suitably attached by bolts, welding, or the like. Each facing pair of the frame elements, e.g. 14 and 18, are attached to each other at the peak of the building with a suitable connector 26 which may be a bolt or rivet, or by welding. The base of each of the frame elements is attached to the respective foundation portion either by bolting it thereto, or preferably by the unique sliding fit illustrated in FIG. 7. This sliding connection includes a receiving element 30 which has an inner slot opening 32, a pair of flanges 34 and 36 bolted to the foundation 12, and an upper opening 35. The outer wall 31 of the opening is blind. This opening receives the rectangular shaped plate 38 rigidly attached to the lower end of a pair of tubular steel elements 40 and 42 making up each of the frame elements, e.g. 14. The unit is thus slid into place from the inside of the foundation toward the outside. Stresses placed on the roof and putting a lateral thrust on the lower end of the frame element cause it to bind rigidly into place for a secure mount. To assemble a pair of the facing frame elements therefore, e.g. 14 and 18, each is slid into place from the inside of the foundation toward the outside and the two are then interconnected at the peak 26 by suitable connection means as discussed. A plurality of these are so mounted in spaced relationship at exact intervals to receive and support the panels.

The steel frame element may be substituted by other equivalent structures if desired. Also, the specific form of the frame elements illustrated in FIG. 1 need not be employed. However, this is preferred since the upwardly divergent legs 17 and 19 of the wall forming portion, interconnected by braces 21, and the upwardly convergent legs 17 and 19' of the roof portion, with their bracing elements 21', provide the best structural strength.

Each of the panels includes a central foam core 50 (FIG. 3) and a pair of skin elements 52 and 54. The foam core is preferably a rigid polyurethane foam or polystyrene foam, or the equivalent. The foam must have structural strength itself when laminated, and have capacity to the sandwich skins. The skins may be of sheet metal, pressed board, or some other equivalent moistureproof structural skin material. The opposite skins may be of different materials for interior and exterior faces.

One edge of each panel includes an elongated recess 60 adjacent the face that is adjacent to and abuts-the outer elements 40 of the frame members, and an adjacent elongated protrusion 62 on the opposite edge portion adjacent the face opposite the rigid frame elements. Normally these are the interior and exterior faces of the paneling, but not necessarily. The opposite end edge of each panel e.g. 22 (or as shown by the end of panel 22' in FIG. 4) includes a projection or protrusion 64 adjacent the same face as the recess on the other end edge, and an adjacent-recess 66 adjacent the other face. This is also just opposite from the recess and projection on the adjacent edge of the adjacent panel, to be cooperative therewith.

These edges, when interengaged, receive and enclose special anchor clips 70, 70', etc. as indicated in FIG. 1, to mount the panels to the frame elements. Each of these anchor clips is attached 'to the frame as by welding or bolting, or may be slidably removed to the frame as illustrated by the structures in FIGS. 3, 4, and 6, or may be hingedly attached to the frame for movement out of the way during shipment as illustrated in FIG. 5. When slidably attached to the frame elements, the anchor clips include a foot 72 received in the slot 74 in bracket 76 attached to frame element 40. The foot thus slides vertically down into the recess formed behind the spaced frontal plate of this bracket. The clip also includes a leg 78 that projects perpendicularly away from the frame element, a second leg 80 normal to the first leg and spaced from the frame element, and a third leg 82 normal to the second leg and parallel to but offset from the first leg 78.

The offset configuration of a non-planar anchor clip therefore corresponds with the configuration of the adjacent two edges of the adjacent panels 22 and 22' to fit neatly therebetween. Thus the projection 64 on panel 22' can fit behind the L-shaped clip portion formed by legs 78 and 80 of the clip, while the projection 62 fits over leg 80 so that, when these two panels. are interengaged over this clip, they receive the clip in a manner which prevents removal of the panels from the clip or removal of the clip from the panels. In order to make the connection effective however, the panels must be interlocked with each other with an engagement which does not become removable once the engagement is made. The interlock is made over or around the anchor clip.

To achieve this, a male connector member 86 is formed on the one end of the one panel and a female connector 82 is formed on the adjacent end of the adjacent panel. These project outwardly away from the panel and beyond the clip to interengage with each other over the clip.

The male member 86 has a basically V-shaped configuration since the flange portion to which it is mounted projects normal to the panel, and then is bent back upon itself with an angle greater than 270 degrees. The female member also has a basic V-shaped configuration of slightly larger dimension to receive and fit over the male member. It also has an inturned flange portion 90 which catches behind the reverse bent flange of the male member to lock the engagement and prevent removal once they are pressed and snapped together. Engagement is made by deflecting the main bent flange on the female member slightly while it is pressed over the male member. The connection of these is illustrated specifically in FIG. 3.

To assemble a plurality of the panels therefore, the clips are first attached to the frame element by welding them or by sliding them into the special bracket 76 provided for this purpose. The end of a panel 22 is engaged with the clips by sliding its protrusion 64 behind the L-shaped base portion of the anchor clip i.e. behind leg 80 and adjacent'leg 78. The recess 66 thus receives the offset portion 88, 82 of the clip. The opposite end of this panel is then swung in toward the adjacent frame element so that the female connector on the unconnected end swings over the top of the male member of the next panel, and resiliently deforms temporarily so that flange portion can clip around the male flange simultaneously with fitting of projection 62 against legs 80 and 82 of the adjacent clips, and fitting of recess 60 with legs 78 and 80 of the clips.

An entire series of the panels can therefore be mounted in a matter of minutes without any additional bolts, nails, or any other connectors or the like. It will be readily seen that the anchored clip secures projection 64 on the end of panel 22', and that the opposite end of the panel is locked to the adjacent end of the next panel over the top of the anchor clips so that, even though the units are readily assembled in a matter of minutes, they are permanently anchored and are not removable by ordinary means. They can only be removed by disconnection of the joints between the male and female connectors 86 and 88. conceivably, in less preferred forms of the invention, this special male and female connection may be substituted by a bolted connection through the protruding flanges. However this is not preferred.

Also, in many instances it may not be desirable to have the metal skin cover the entire end edges of the panels, so that the foam 50 can abut directly against the anchor clips 70 to provide an even better air-tight connection.

Not only can the walls be formed of this construction, but also the roof. The assembly is leakproof since the overlapping, tightly fitting, junctures of the panel provide a moisture-tight, as well as air-tight connection. The peak of the roof may be covered with a suitable overlap element 27 to finish this construction. Suitable venting devices with controlled inflow may be employed on animal houses.

It will be obvious that the removable nature of clips 70 as described with respect to the form of the invention in FIGS. 3, 4, and 6 is advantageous for shipping purposes, since they will not readily become bent or broken. Ordinarily, when assembled with the panels, these are not subjected to a substantial stress normal to their mounting so that the bracket connection illustrated is entirely sufficient.

Another method of preventing breakage during shipping and handling is to have the clip elements hingedly mounted to the frame portions 40' as illustrated by the modified bracket 70a in FIG. 5. This bracket includes a main flat leg which lays against the face of the frame element so that the leg 78a projects normal to support 40', leg 80a is normal to that leg, and leg 82 is normal to leg 80a. The hinge connection 104 enables the modified clip to be rotated to the position illustrated in phantom in FIG. 5. It therefore is in a protected position between portions 17 and 19 (FIG. 1) of the steel frame.

It will be obvious to those having skill in the art that certain details of construction of these respective intercooperative elements may be made to suit a particular use, type of frame, type of panel, etc., without departing from the scope of the invention taught. Consequently, this invention is not to be limited to the specific details illustrated as the preferred form of the invention, but only by the scope of the attached claims and the reasonably equivalent structures to those defined therein.

I claim:

1. A structural panel connection comprising: a plurality of mounting clips attached to frame elements, each having a first leg to extend from the frame elements and a second leg extending from said first leg; and a plurality of panels, each of which has a protruding edge fitting behind said second leg of said clips, and an opposite recessed edge to receive the clips and the protruding edge of the adjacent panel; and the opposite edges of said panels having interlocking connector edges thereon securing said panels to each other over said clips; said panel edges having a protruding male V-shaped flange and the cooperating panel edge having a receiving female V- shaped flange with an inturned edge to lock said male flange in received position, whereby each panel can be mounted by inserting an edge with a protrusion behind said clips and pushing the opposite edge into engagement with clips on the adjacent support while simultaneously locking said connector means between that panel and the adjacent mounted panel.

2. A building construction comprising: a plurality of frame supports; a plurality of anchor elements mounted to said frame supports and projecting therefrom; said anchor elements each being non-planar in configuration; a plurality of enclosure panels over said supports, interfitting tightly with each other edge to edge; said panels having interfitting connector means on the edges thereof; and said edges being configurated to receive said nonplanar anchor elements therebetween when interfitted, effecting securement of said panels to said clips and thus to said frame supports; and a foundation having a plurality of spaced receiving slot mounts thereon, and each of said frame supports having a foot slidably received in one of said slot mounts.

3. A building panel structure comprising: frame support means comprising a plurality of spaced frames; a plurality of anchor clips hingedly mounted to said spaced frames; each of said clips including a first leg protruding from the support means, a second leg normal to said first leg, and a third leg normal to said second leg and parallel to but offset from said first leg; a plurality of panels, each having one edge with an offset configuration on one side of a first plurality of said clips on one portion of said frame support means, and an opposite edge with an offset configuration of the opposite side of a second plurality of clips on another portion of said frame support means, to allow interengagement of said panel edges over said clips; and interengageable locking means between said panel edges of adjacent panels, anchoring said panels to each other and to said clips.

4. A building panel construction comprising: a plurality of spaced frame supports; a plurality of foam core, laminated panels, each spanning the space between at least two supports, with one surface against the frame supports and the opposite surface spaced from the supports; each of said panels having a pair of offset end edges, one edge having a protrusion adjacent said one surface and a recess adjacent said opposite surface, and the opposite edge having a recess adjacent said one surface and a protrusion adjacent said opposite surface, so that each panel can interengage with the adjacent two panels; a plurality of support clips on said frame elements projecting between the interengaged ends of said panels to locate said edges on said supports and overlap the protrusion on one edge of each panel to secure it; and said panels having connector means on said edges interen-gaged to lock adjacent panels together; said secured panel edges having a protruding male V-shaped flange and the cooperating panel edge having a receiving female V-shaped flange with an inturned edge to lock said male flange in received position, whereby each panel can be mounted by inserting an edge with a protrusion behind said clips and pushing the opposite edge into engagement with clips on the adjacent support while simultaneously locking said connector means between that panel and the adjacent mounted panel.

5. A building panel structure comprising: frame support means comprising a plurality of spaced frames; said spaced frames containing clip supports, each having a pocket; a plurality of anchor clips slidably attached to said clip supports by insertion of a portion of said clips in said pockets; each of said clips including a first leg protruding from the support means, a second leg normal to said first leg, and a third leg normal to said second leg and parallel to but offset from said first leg; a plurality of panels, each having one edge with an offset configuration on one side of a first plurality of said clips on one portion of said frame support means, and an opposite edge with an offset configuration of the opposite side of a second plurality of clips on another portion of said frame support means, to allow interenga-gement of said panel edges over said clips and interengageable lock ing means between said panel edges of adjacent panels, anchoring said panels to each other and to said clips.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,335,303 11/1943 Olsen 52588 2,730,208 1/1956 Valentine 52-478 X 3,187,389 6/1965 Anderson 52489 3,243,931 4/1966 Becherer 52520 X JOHN E. MURTAGH, Primary Examiner. 

2. A BUILDING CONSTRUCTION COMPRISING: A PLURALITY OF FRAME SUPPORTS; A PLURALITY OF ANCHOR ELEMENTS MOUNTED TO SAID FRAME SUPPORTS AND PROJECTING THEREFROM; AND ANCHOR ELEMENTS EACH BEING NON-PLANAR IN CONFIGURATION; A PLURALITY OF ENCLOSURE PANELS OVER SAID SUPPORTS, INTERFITTING TIGHTLY WITH EACH OTHER EDGE TO EDGE; SAID PANELS HAVING INTERFITTING CONNECTOR MEANS ON THE EDGES THEREOF; AND SAID EDGE BEING CONFIGURATED TO RECEIVE SAID NONPLANAR ANCHOR ELEMENTS THEREBETWEEN WHEN INTERFITTED, EFFECTING SECUREMENT OF SAID PANELS TO SAID CLIPS AND THUS TO SAID FRAME SUPPORTS; AND A FOUNDATION HAVING A PLURALITY OF SPACED RECEIVING SLOT MOUNTS THEREON, AND EACH OF SAID FRAME SUPPORTS HAVING A FOOT SLIDABLY RECEIVED IN ONE OF SAID MOUNTS. 